This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds review contains spoilers for season 3 episode 8. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that even the best television shows have average episodes. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fans are more spoiled than most, simply because we don’t get them very often. In fact, subpar episodes of this series tend to […]
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Nintendo’s breakout title was not Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, but rather Donkey Kong, with the eponymous ape headlining the company’s 1981 arcade game that helped Nintendo establish a prominent foothold in the American gaming industry. Since then Donkey Kong has become a fixture for the company, either as a supporting character for Mario-led ensemble games or his own line of starring titles across Nintendo’s many home and handheld consoles. This has continued into the company’s fledgling Nintendo Switch 2 era, with the console’s Donkey Kong Bananza the most positively buzzed-about title from the Switch 2’s launch library.
Donkey Kong has a longstanding history within the video game industry, though the number of games that he primarily stars in aren’t quite as prolific as some of his other Nintendo counterparts. With that said, Donkey Kong has starred in at least one game on virtually every major Nintendo system and remains a cornerstone property for the company. Here are the top 10 best Donkey Kong games ranked, not counting his supporting character ensemble appearances.
10. Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
We’re starting off this list with a relatively divisive entry, as many have not inaccurately derided 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 as an overstuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64. To this common criticism’s credit, the game does have you replay many of the same levels with different characters—something 2004’s Super Mario 64 DS also did without as much backlash—but that overlooks the point. Indeed, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming, Donkey Kong 64 rose above its contemporaries in the genre.
There is an under-appreciated depth to Donkey Kong 64, particularly in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score composed by Grant Kirkhope. What a lot of retrospective reviews also don’t take into account is that there was a ton of 3D platforming slop flooding the market after the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above during its release. Certainly not without its flaws, Donkey Kong 64 deserves far more love than it gets these days, or at least a less dubious reputation.
10. Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
We’re starting off this list with a relatively divisive entry, as many have not inaccurately derided 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 as an overstuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64. To this common criticism’s credit, the game does have you replay many of the same levels with different characters—something 2004’s Super Mario 64 DS also did without as much backlash—but that overlooks the point. Indeed, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming, Donkey Kong 64 rose above its contemporaries in the genre.
There is an under-appreciated depth to Donkey Kong 64, particularly in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score composed by Grant Kirkhope. What a lot of retrospective reviews also don’t take into account is that there was a ton of 3D platforming slop flooding the market after the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above during its release. Certainly not without its flaws, Donkey Kong 64 deserves far more love than it gets these days, or at least a less dubious reputation.